Saffran, B. N., and Crutcher, K. A. (1987). Putative gliotoxin, alpha-aminoadipic acid, fails to kill hippocampal astrocytes in vivo.
Neuroscience Letters, 81(1-2):215-20.
Abstract
The putative gliotoxic compound, alpha-aminoadipic acid (AAA), has
previously been reported to be a glial-selective toxin exerting its
effects both in vivo and in vitro. This study sought to examine the
effects of this compound on adult rat hippocampal astrocytes in
vivo. Fourteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with
high concentrations of either the L-isomer or the racemic mixture of
AAA into the dorsal hippocampal formation or corpus striatum. The
animals were allowed to survive for times ranging from 4 to 48 h and
the possible toxicity of the acid on astrocytes was monitored by
glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunocytochemistry. In every
case, the GFAP-positive cells at the level of the injection site
appeared identical, both in morphology and cell density, to control
preparations. Based on our results, we conclude that AAA is not
toxic to adult rat hippocampal astrocytes in vivo, nor could we
confirm previous reports of toxicity to striatal astrocytes.
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